First Actively Managed Investment Grade Credit Portfolio Launches On-Chain, with Monetalis and Cicada Partners
October 23, 2023

The Osprey Total Return Pool is the first actively managed investment grade credit portfolio available on-chain. The strategy of the pool is simple yet powerful: deliver a total return from a short-duration Investment Grade credit portfolio of 'real-world-assets' including; Treasury Bills, Asset-Backed Securities, and Loans. The pool targets a competitive interest rate of the 90-day Term SOFR rate + 1.5%, 6.89% at the time of writing. The pool also shares 50% of the portfolio's Net Income enabling the potential for greater interest over time. The opportunity is offered through the collaboration of Cicada Partners, a pioneering on-chain credit risk management company, and Monetalis, an appointed Arranger for MakerDAO.

In recent months, on-chain allocators have tapped into attractive “risk-free” rates, with nearly $700 million allocated to treasury products (rwa.xyz). With the Osprey Pool, lenders have the opportunity to earn interest rates of 150 bps above the risk-free rate, with active portfolio management at the core of its low-risk strategy.

Active portfolio management is a differentiating strategy versus existing on-chain offerings, which focus on passive index tracking or staking. In contrast, the Osprey Pool takes advantage of short-term market trends and sector-specific opportunities to return value back to the Pool.

Visit the Pool | Register to onboard as a Lender

Monetalis has established Osprey Services Limited to be the sole borrower from the Pool. The team boasts 40 years of traditional portfolio-building expertise, and has a reputation for being an Arranger for MakerDAO, and managing a $1.7 billion portfolio on behalf of its Community.

Led by Chief Credit Officer Alessio Marinelli and Head of Portfolio Management Andrew Kemp, the team at Monetalis is equipped with deep industry experience across Fixed Income asset classes. Their network of primary dealer desks facilitate efficient execution and the best possible returns for the portfolio.

“We at Monetalis are very excited by the opportunity to expand the reach of our team's services and manage a pool on-chain. We have developed the portfolio to align with the goals of on-chain capital allocators and bring this unique opportunity to access yield from high quality real-world-assets exclusively to Maple.” Alessio Marinelli, Chief Credit Officer, Monetalis.

Cicada Partners steps into the role of Pool Delegate for the Osprey Total Return Pool. This seasoned team of former buy- and sell-side credit professionals has been at the forefront of DeFi credit space. In their role as Pool Delegate, the team will ensure portfolio execution is in line with the defined investment strategy and risk framework, and will provide regular performance updates to Lenders. Notably, Cicada counts Choppa Capital, Bitscale, Bodhi Ventures, Shiliang Tang, and others among its investors. Read the recent press release announcing Cicada’s raise here.

"Tokenized Treasury Bill products have given on-chain allocators access to elevated risk-free rates and Osprey provides the unique opportunity to enhance rates by lending to a pool backed by liquid, high-quality credit products. Further, history has demonstrated that active management is key in public credit portfolio management and we hope the partnership with Monetalis and the unique structure of the pool will help on-chain lenders optimize portfolios and mitigate losses during market dislocations." Sefton Kincaid, CEO of Cicada Partners.

Key Features of the Osprey Total Return Pool:

The Pool operates under Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and is only available to non-US Accredited Lenders who successfully complete a KYC and AML onboarding process with Maple. For eligible Lenders, the Pool offers a range of features designed to optimize value:

Actively Managed Investment-Grade Portfolio: Monetalis acquires performing assets from top-tier primary and secondary broker dealer desks. Comprehensive monthly performance reports are provided for transparency on the pool page on Maple.

Sustainable, Conservative Yield with a Short Lock-Up: Lenders have the opportunity to earn an interest rate of 150 bps above the “risk-free rate”. Lenders also benefit from a 50% share of the portfolio's Net Income enabling the potential for greater interest earned over time. The Pool operates with a withdrawal cycle of 14 days.

Unique Loss Protection Structure: Cicada provides initial first loss capital of $100,000, and 50% of the Pool’s ongoing Net Income is swept into loss reserves to provide lenders with dynamic and strengthened credit protection.

Offered by Trusted Third-Parties: The Osprey Pool leverages the expertise of Sygnum Bank and Coinbase for on- and off-ramp provisions, and benefits from custodian services provided by Sygnum and Canaccord Genuity.

Visit the Pool | Register to onboard as a Lender

About Cicada Partners

Cicada is an on-chain credit risk management company founded by a seasoned team of former buy- and sell-side credit professionals. Cicada’s co-founders have deep crypto lending expertise, having underwritten $850m in loans at a 1.2% default rate during the prior cycle. Created following the collapse of FTX, Cicada facilitates the growth of institutional lending on public blockchains by enabling lenders to participate in risk-managed non-custodial lending products. cicada.partners.

About Monetalis

Monetalis has extensive experience in credit markets. Monetalis leverages their expertise to provide advisory services and practical solutions for connecting TradFi and DeFi.

In its capacity as an appointed Arranger for MakerDAO, Monetalis has played a pivotal role in the development, proposal, construction, and ongoing management of complex legal structures and partnership networks connecting TradFi and DeFi, such as the Clydesdale and Coinbase Custody Vaults. The allocation managed through these structures has now surpassed $1.7 billion, invested into fixed-income instruments.

About Maple Finance

Maple Finance provides the infrastructure for credit experts to run on-chain lending businesses and connects institutional lenders and borrowers. Built with both traditional financial institutions and decentralized finance leaders, Maple is transforming debt-capital markets by combining industry-standard compliance and due diligence with the transparent and frictionless lending enabled by smart contracts and blockchain technology. maple.finance.

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